As explained in the above-referenced application Ser. No. 07/888,007, which is incorporated herein by express reference, aquifers such as the Ogallala which provide water that is essential to the economics of a large part of the Midwest and Southwest regions of the United States, have experienced substantial reductions in water saturated thickness for many years. Some areas reached critical saturation thickness, where pumping causes air breakthrough and severe damage to pumping equipment, as far back as 1956. To provide adequate water supplies, additional wells have been drilled and completed, at drilling and completion costs, and with additional power requirement costs that have made the economics of such additional wells questionable.
In the above-mentioned application for patent, methods are disclosed and claimed for forming the borehole of a water well in a manner such that its lower or production section extends horizontal, or hear horizontal, and preferably is positioned in the lower 20% of the water-saturated thickness of an aquifer. Where the aquifer is unusually thick, such production section should be positioned at a depth below the air-water interface of such aquifer which is adequate to prevent air breakthrough during pumping, and which limits the lift distance together with associated power requirements. Such a completion allows high pumping rates with greatly reduced possibilities of air breakthrough, and also permits a much larger volume of the aquifer to be produced by a single well. The present application is directed to unique casing installation systems and associated tools by which the methods disclosed in the prior application are carried out.